Vegpig's little eyes grow wide as he studies Luurg's hairy coconuts, a look of awe on his face.
"Eat and drink and boom? All from same nut? Wow! Like magic!"
He watches as Luurg finds a suitable place to plant them, a strange little look of determination on his face.
"Okay! We take care of hairy-nut-trees, watch them grow big and tall," he vows.
Once the planting is done and the time comes for you to part ways, Vegpig kneels before you in a show of respect.
"Thank you, tall-legs! Live good and die good. Vegpig and people will never forget you!"
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With your goodbyes said to Vegpig you make your way back across the island of Nal-Kashel to Wedding Rock Cove, where your stashed boat awaits. As you arrive you notice that Estian, the man-turned-skum that you tangled with and subsequently subdued during the ferry trip out here, seems to have vanished, the remnants of the ropes that held him lying upon the sand. The ropes seem to have been roughly sawed through rather than cleanly cut, making it likely that Estian eventually regained consciousness and managed to cut himself free on some of the sharper rocks nearby. Footsteps vanish into the ocean, the only remaining trace of him. It's a troublesome discovery but with Mohl'omog and Gerlach both dead it seems highly unlikely that Estian or any remaining skum in the area would dare to return to the island or to Blackcove and so there's little else to do but make a note of it as you all climb into the boat and shove off from shore.
The trip back across the waters to Blackcove is blessedly and blissfully uneventful. What's more, the foul weather that marked your arrival to Blackcove and has been with you since seems to have finally cleared up. The rain is gone and though the skies are still cloudy, shafts of sunlight now peek through the clouds and warm your faces as you glide through the calm seas.
As you near the village and shore, you see a number of people on Blackcove's dilapidated dock, gazing out at you across the waters. Though you're still too far out to hear anything you can see them waving happily as they turn back towards the buildings behind them, presumably calling for their fellows. More and more figures come out of the nearby houses and the lighthouse, cheering and waving, overjoyed to see the return of their saviors. Among them you can see Nick, the priestess Lira, Gervus and even crazy old Bartock, who seems to have survived the giant squid attack after all.
"Well ain't you all a sight for sore eyes," Nick calls out as the bottom of your boat finally scrapes sand, forcing you to disembark and pull it the remaining few feet onto shore. You can see the fisherman's weathered face crinkled into a broad grin. "The girls said you'd be along eventually! I...well, after the tale Sara told I wasn't sure if I believed that, I ain't gonna lie. But I'm glad I was wrong."
He pauses and takes in the sight of the six of you; waterlogged, clearly weary, and probably hungry. Then he offers a welcoming hand.
"Come on, bet you folks could stand to take a load off your feet. Facilities still ain't much to look at but we'll take care of ya best as we can, alright? The least we can do for all you've done for us," Nick offers. "Then after you've had a rest you can tell us all about what happened. Thanks to the girls we've kinda pieced together some of it but there's still some gaps what need filling."
The unofficial sheriff of Blackcove looks around at all the craning and curious faces.
"Heh! And you've got the whole damn town for an audience. Bet that doesn't happen alot, eh?"
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Wadi gives a heartfelt sigh of relief as the boat touches land. I swear I am DONE with ocean trips! Despite his tired and bedraggled disposition he manages to offer a genuine smile to the other villagers.
"Yes it is quite the long tale and indeed it was a close battle in the end. But we were victorious! We managed to deal with the true cause of Blackcove's troubles, and" here his grin broadens, "thanks to my boon companion here," pointing to Luurg now, "we have managed to discover a CURE for the sickness that plagues you and your loved ones!"
Now...let's see how he likes being the center of attention here...
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*snerk*
McKeig's comment prompts Sheela to suddenly grin.
But she passes it off as relief. "It's good to see everyone again, safe and sound. We all worked together and succeeded where we individually would have failed." She grins to Sara. "Sara, we should catch up to Adler. We told him to the ship we used to get here, the uh... Codfather. Well, they can wait another day."
"First, a bath. Then, we celebrate!"
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The rotund half orc smiles slowly and nods at Wadi as he directs the groups attention his way. Luckily, the others take some of the pressure off. "Oh, deez nuts?" He pulls out yet another pair of hairy coconuts from his pack and grins. "Ya, we can plant more mang. Luurg always gut moar fruitz n nutz to share."
When the boss lady mentions a bath Luurg raises an eyebrow "Ocean right here boss lady Sheelur. Hop in and scrubba dubb. Luurg find you nice sponge ok? Ok." He wades out and into the water to find one.
He soon returns empty handed "Sorry, no sponges near here. Mebe village has some." He wacks the side of his head to clear out any water in his ears.
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"Yeah! Mission complete!" Tiffany hops onto shore. "It got totally nasty towards the end there, with our friend Wadi here even contracting some kind of... fungus? Ooze?" She holds her nose. "No idea, but for a sec, I thought I was going to have to gulp t-t-touch him to heal his ailment..."
Then she flips a thumbs up towards Luurg's nuts. "But NOPE! Luurg crafted the perfect alchemy juice, and Wadi is good as new!"
"Did you say bath?!" Tiffany hops towards Sheela. "I'm in! I probably smell worse than Gerlach's hairy pits!"
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Luckily (or perhaps not) for the ladies of Blackcove, Luurg just isn't that kind of orc and so the hidden meaning behind McKieg's remark sails right over his head. It doesn't slip past Sheela though, nor does it slip past Nick who starts to whoop with laughter and then seems to think better of it, producing a sound more akin to a coughing fit.
"M'fine, just uh, getting over a cold," he remarks, shoulders shaking slightly. "Anyway, it's good to see you're all in good spirits! If you wanna talk about, um, farming and gardening Lira'd be the one to ask; she'll know if those things could grow here or not. Anyway, let's get in out of the breeze..."
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And so you spend what's left of the day and that night in Blackcove, enjoying the hospitality of the locals. Meals are had and baths are taken, after which you share your experiences on Nal-Kashel with everyone who cares to listen - which is basically everyone. With the information you give them Lira and Gervus - probably the most educated, or at least well-read - piece together what seems to be a likely narrative.
"The 'god' Mohl'omog...I've read stories of creatures from the deep that sound similar, called aboleths," Lira offers up. "He must've become trapped under the island in antiquity. It's impossible to know if those skum were already swimming in the waters here or if he managed to lure them to Nal-Kashel, somehow. But either way, it sounds as though he was able to exert some sort of influence over them and have them do his bidding."
She shudders. "And the secretive interbreeding...the transformations...all part of a plan to acquire more subjects. To dig and to set him free from his prison."
"Poor Gerlach. He had the best of attentions in mind," Gervus shakes his head sadly. "And he had a cure for the transmigration? Why didn't he use it on himself?"
"This thing, this...a-bo-leth you said, Lira? If it could make even these folks see things that weren't there then it must've been mighty powerful," Nick comments, staring thoughtfully into his mug. "Maybe it made Gerlach forget the good he was tryin' to do, until he was too far gone."
"Well, whatever the case, I think we should remember Gerlach for the man he was and not the conglomeration that he became," Gervus suggests, lifting his cup. "A toast for the ones who came back and the ones who didn't - including Gerlach."
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Everyone drinks and eats and makes merry through much of the night, an unspoken agreement among you all that everyday concerns can wait just a day more. Still, all good things must come to an end and eventually the sun rises and Blackcove with it, ready to greet a new day and what will hopefully be a brighter future.
You spend the first few morning hours working with Lira, teaching her how to brew up the Elixir of True Form as well as working to gather a ready stockpile of ingredients in the event of any future transformations. With that task complete, it is time for your time in Blackcove to come to an end and for all of you to turn your gazes homeward. After some heartfelt goodbyes and the insistence that you take the reward the citizens have gathered up for you - 2,000 gold - you set out on the coastal road once more with Sara Vanderholt in tow. Now, your feet carry you north towards the port city of Pezzack where Sara's husband Adler waits and where Captain Morton and the Codfather are waiting to carry you back to Absalom.
While you certainly got more than you bargained for with this particular assignment each of you are able to move forward with the sun on your faces, the sea breeze in your hair, and the knowledge that not only did you uncover a number of items of historical significance for the Pathfinder Society but that you also were able put an ancient evil to rest for good.
All in all, a job well done.
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As the group travels back to Absalom Luurg talks excitedly about his plans on his time off "Luurg finally gut 'nuff gold fer deez boots been in dis magic shop, long time. Dey grow trees! Luurg can't wait, gonna grow trees n buy big axe to chop down icky trees, make big orchards of real gud fruit trees all 'round island."
The image of an enlarged Luurg flitting about on his butterfly wings while chopping down competing trees in old orchards with his oversized adamantine axe rings in your brains. It gunna be GREAT! He's already practicing his axe chop swing to get ready.
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Sheela enjoys the evening with the villagers. She has many questions, and she finds many answers among the folk. She finds herself able to inspire people toward heights they've never reached before.
Everyone seems to be a bit better in the morning, Sheela included. She wakes up and stretches a bit before finding her clothing.
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Back aboard The Codfather, Sheela reintroduces Sara to Adler. "As I said, Sara. He was quite heroic in his request for aid. We barely had to help him." Not that the newlyweds were listening to her.
Oh well.
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"Back to base, everyone. I'm sure Lady Heidmarch will want to know every juicy detail." Sheela finally frowns as the ship sets sail. "I hope I wasn't too bad of a leader. Usually I'm running away from authority, not embracing it." Sheela grins. "Still, it's a start."